You should first have a beginner lesson at a kiteschool , all your questions will be answered at once .

Thanks early bird2

Evntually I will do it , may be next summer, but I am sure a kite school will be able to answer only some of my questions, not all and certainly not the more important ones.
I have to have these questions answered before I buy one of their kites.

This is because my questions deal only marginally with kiting technique or how-to-do issues, which, I agree, any competent instructor would be be able to answer regardless of the brand .

The more important questions are instead about some of the specific features of the Kitmare-HQ brand ( the German manufacturer ) and I doubt that any run-of-the-mill local instructor here knows this brand, or if knows it, that he knows it well enough to answer them.

Ittiandro

- Digging up a post from 2011 is nuts. So much has changed in the sport and across the brands in six years. Chris from HQ Kites was last active on this forum in 2012.

- You need to take a lesson. The questions you are asking are not brand specific and show a complete lack of understanding and experience. Your plans to purchase a specific kite don't mean anything to anyone. Lessons first then purchase an ok second hand kite based on your instructors feedback as you are going to beat the crap out of your first kite or two.

- There are so many open and closed cell kites to choose from, don't get stuck on a specific brand.

I definitely would consult the ancient wisdom contained in early posts by PumpMeUp before attempting to fly an HQ hydra.

HQ has produced some of the best kites of the time. The Matrixx I was one of the highest performance kites on the market when released. If you can fly one back to back with an Ozone "Chrono II" and a Flysurfer "Speed (2,3, or 4), you will see that it is almost as good as the Chrono II and light years ahead of the Speed series. And that was way before the "Chrono II" was ever available!

Grazie Matteo

Thank you for your comment on the HQ line. You seem to know it pretty well. Your comment allays some of my fears, as a newbie, to buy this brand, which I don't know too well and has been scorched by the caustic comments of somebody in this Forum, who didn't like it or maybe had a wrong expectation or set it up incorrectly, even if. honestly, I couldn't discount some " errori di percorso" by the manufacturer in the design of one or another of their products, as you said yourself.....

I have already posted in this thread some of the more burning questions I had regarding the HQ trainer kite Hydra 300 or 350. Maybe you can have a look at it and comment because all I seem to get as a response is to take a course and ask an instructor...

Basically, even though this trainer kite is about half the price of full fledge L.E.I's, I wouldn't want to buy just a toy, soon to be discarded after learning some of the basic tricks on land, like a child with his small kite....

Here is where I come from: I am neither a professsional kiter, nor a dare devil ( nor young !). I just want to have fun with the kite as an alternative to windsurfing when winds are low, but the kite has to pack enough power to safely propel 85 kg both on the snow and on the water..I was even thinking of using it on a SUP or even a kayak...
May be you can tell me if this trainer kite is for me...

1.One essential element I have to consider is the safety features on the kite.
Most of the kites I see on the market are 4 lines and have a Depower /quick safety release/power control mechanism through the middle line , which joins two of the two lines from the upper kite in a Y connection.

You seem to imply that this system is now obsolete and that there is a more advanced design. It may well be, but for me it would be enough.
Just want to make sure that the Hydra has such a feature. Can you tell me? From the diagram on their manual it looks like this feature is there. It looks pretty much like the Depower mechanism on the Oozone kite shown in the instructional video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZLS2qqFggo.

2. The HQ Hydra manual says that the kite is water-relaunchable and that it will hold the air for" some time". What are the chances that it it will deflate on the water to the point that I cannot relaunch it? It would be a real snag!

3. Which size would you suggest ? The 4 m2 looks interesting, but perhaps risky ( too powerful) in high winds, although wind are generally light here in summer( 10-15 knts most of the time) On the other a 2.6 may be underpowered. Perhaps a 3.5 ?

Thank you for your comments

Ittiandro

Last edited by Ittiandro on Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.

..... because he identifies himself as "Chris-HQ Kites" and invites our disgruntled Snowkitejoe to contact him “ to see-in his words-what he can do”. If so he is probably my best bet to have my questions answered. I hope he will see my post and take the time to answer my questions..

Ittiandro

I'll vouch for Chris. He is a good guy and we have kited together.

That said, he will promote his brand to you as it is his job and livelihood. I can also vouch for the brand being no worse than any other kite brand. Isolated incidences of issues are present in even the most expensive brands. And it seems that most kiters find no increase in service with an increase in price.

Don't take this as me being neutral. It is just the truth - maybe even the "first law of kiteboarding".

....to buy this brand, which I don't know too well and has been scorched by the caustic comments of somebody in this Forum....

Not really. The OP in this thread was a little too forward to be believable. I think he was outed pretty quickly. His issues were not even issues a conscientious kiter would present, at least not in that manner. And that was why I alluded to the historical events at the time. There was some animosity going on between two brands prior to this. There is a probability that this was a "hit post" on HQ by someone affiliated with that brand.

I have had the pleasure of meeting and kiting with the US rep Chris at Ivanpah. Great guy and went way out of his way to help me with some confusion on a order. I now own an apex 6m and though I don't think it's the best kite in the sky it meets most of my needs. I'm looking forward to trying the Montana 10 soon. Good company and they stand behind their products!

I now own an apex 6m and though I don't think it's the best kite in the sky it meets most of my needs.

No, it is not. But if you really use this kite - fly static when it is too light to move, learn the loops, learn to place it in the window by stalling it, learn stall recovery on the bar, YOU WILL HAVE A BETTER FEEL for kites than someone who has not experienced that particular kite model. This kite should be mandatory for everyone to learn before moving onto SLE's.